One Thing Wednesday: Stash Some Cash

DEM Blogger

November 11, 2015

The Do 1 Thing site won the Awareness to Action category of FEMA’s 2014 Individual and Community Preparedness Awards. It’s a 12-month program of small steps that you can take to increase your personal and household preparedness. Throughout 2015, DEM will feature Do 1 Thing items during our weekly blog post series of One Thing Wednesdays. Check back here every week for a new preparedness activity or tip!

We’ve talked a lot about skills and knowledge, but physical tools are also an important part of preparedness. Our theme for November is supplies: the consumable items and substances that help turn a disaster into an adventure.

Many of modern life’s conveniences rely on electricity and the internet, and the banking industry is definitely on that list. In a widespread outage of power or telecommunications, automated teller machines (ATMs) may not work. With point-of-sale terminals also dependent on those services, businesses may not be able to process credit or debit card transactions even if they are open. In a large-scale disaster, cash may be your only means of making purchases.

Like any other commodity that may be hard to get during a disaster, your best course of action for having ready cash is to stash it ahead of time. We recommend having a minimum of $200 on hand. We realize this may not be possible for everyone, so start with what can. Take a few dollars a week and place them in an envelope or zip-top bag in your emergency kit until you reach your emergency cash reserve goal.